"We're here," Alicia said, stopping before a large hall, after that she turned and left.
Rayleigh stepped inside.
Every pair of eyes in the room snapped toward him.
There weren't many people present.
The Three executives—Finn, Gareth, and Riveria—were there, of course.
Besides them, there was Ais, an unremarkable black-haired man and a Catfolk girl.
And finally... a woman with red hair tied in a short ponytail.
Rayleigh recognized her.
The Loki Familia's patron god, Loki.
'Some familiar faces are missing,' he thought.
But that couldn't be helped since the time wasn't right yet.
The Amazon twins, the werewolf, and the overpowered Elf hadn't joined yet.
Even so, the current Loki Familia stood at the pinnacle of Orario.
This showed how weakened Orario had become after losing the Zeus and Hera Familias.
In this world, Orario was the center of everything, Because it housed the Great Labyrinth.
The Magic Stones harvested from the Labyrinth fueled the Magic Stone industry.
For modern people, this alone made the importance of Magic Stones clear. Simply put, Magic Stones were a high-quality, infinitely renewable energy source.
Orario wasn't a nation, but a city where numerous Familias coexisted under the management of the Guild.
Therefore, many kingdoms eyed Orario covetously.
They were held in check only by Orario's strength, not daring to invade it.
A prime example was the Rakia Kingdom.
Located not far from Orario and ruled by the War God Ares, this kingdom frequently launched military campaigns against the city.
But a far greater threat than the Rakia Kingdom was the Evilus, always lurking in the shadows and bide their time.
Their goal was the destruction of Orario.
And unlike the Rakia Kingdom, where even Level 2 Adventurers were rare, the Evilus boasted numerous First-Class Adventurers, some reaching the highest echelons.
Given this precarious situation, it was no wonder the Evil God Erebus had initiated his "Necessary Evil" plan, aiming to bolster Orario's overall strength.
According to Erebus, this plan was crucial to the fate of the Lower World.
If it failed, the world itself might face destruction in the near future.
"Welcome to the Twilight Manor, Rayleigh."
Finn stepped forward with a smile, flanked by Loki whose expression was terrifying!
'Ugh.'
Rayleigh felt a pang of awkwardness under her fierce glare.
This God ranked among the top five most difficult people he'd ever had to deal with!
"So it's you!"
'Huh?'
"Don't play dumb with me! You harem-building jerk!"
"What?"
"Damn it! Getting all lovey-dovey with super-cute girls like Alise-chan, Kaguya-chan, and Ryuu-chan every day... Did you save the world in your past life or something you creep?! I'm so jealous!"
Loki's dramatic outburst reminded Rayleigh of one of this God... quirks.
That's right.
Her lecherous nature.
Despite being a Goddess, she had a peculiar fondness for beautiful girls, especially those who were innocent, pure, and delicate as flower buds.
Aside from being a God, this woman was a total pervert!
The cute girls in her Familia were annoyed by her relentless harassment.
The most tragic victim of this would be a certain Elf who'd join them in the future.
"Goddess Loki, you misunderstand. My companions and I don't have that kind of relationship."
'At least, not yet.'
"Hmph! Spoken like a true scumbag! Let me ask you—you don't have any intention on my Alicia-chan or Ais-tan, do you?"
Rayleigh was speechless.
He sighed in resignation. "Alicia-san is one thing, but Ais is only eight years old. I'm not that much of a criminal."
Hearing this, Loki shot up as if she'd just burst out of a coffin!
She roared, "AHA! So you're saying you'll make your move on Ais once she's grown up! I knew it!"
'Huh?'
Ais, who had been silently devouring her food, looked up at Rayleigh.
Their eyes met and Ais spoke up. "Rayleigh, are you going to make your move on me?"
Rayleigh: "No!"
Ais tilted her head, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Why not?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you want to make a move on Alicia, but not on me?"
The girl's words were innocent.
Unfortunately, they were overheard by Alicia, who had just changed her clothes and arrived at that moment.
Her face paled, and she shrank back while exclaiming, "Rayleigh-san is going to make a move on me?!"
Seeing her appear at such a disastrously timed moment, Rayleigh's expression fell.
'What is happening right now?'
'What did I even come here for?'
'How did this turn into a public shaming session?!'
"Waaah! My Ais-tan and Alicia-chan are being stolen by this creep!" Loki collapsed to the floor, wailing and throwing a tantrum.
"..."
"Haven't you caused enough trouble?!"
BAM!
The Level 5 Mage's fist slammed onto Loki's head!
The punch raised a large bump on the Goddess's head.
The one who threw the punch was.... Riveria.
Loki's tears flowed freely.
While sobbing, she hugged Riveria's leg and wailed, "Waaah, Mama, don't tell me this brat's gonna steal you away too!"
"You're filthy... Let go." Riveria pushed Loki's face away with disgust. "And who are you calling 'Mama'?!"
Watching the lively Familia atmosphere unfold, Rayleigh chuckled.
Witnessing this scene—one he'd previously only seen through a screen—filled him with joy.
Finn smiled before turning to Rayleigh. "Sorry about that. She's usually wild, but she knows her limits. She just got greedy and insisted on trying some new wine, and... well, this is the result."
'No wonder she smells of alcohol.'
'So she's drunk.'
Come to think of it, he remembered Loki having a low alcohol tolerance and being a terrible drunk.
Now he'd seen it firsthand.
"Let's take our seats, then. We can discuss business after we eat."
Rayleigh nodded. "Of course, no problem."
He'd come on an empty stomach, anticipating the banquet.
The Loki Familia's preparations were meticulous.
Every dish was delicious!
Rayleigh savored each bite, feeling satisfied.
After all, they were about to discuss matters of mutual interest, so the opening couldn't be sloppy.
During the meal, Finn introduced the two people seated at the far end of the table.
Raul Nord and Anakitty Autumn.
Rayleigh looked at Raul—the man who embodied ordinariness to its core—with a knowing gaze.
Right now, Raul was still a boy, perhaps a year younger than Rayleigh.
At this stage, he was likely clinging to the dream of awakening a Magic or Skill, filled with longing for it.
Unfortunately, he would never awaken any Magic or Skills.
Yet, he would reach Level 5.
He would come to be known as the "Extraordinary Ordinary."
The ultimate ordinary guy!
'Sigh.'
In Orario, it wasn't rare for Adventurers to lack both Magic and Skills.
But those were usually Level 1 or 2 Adventurers, with rare exceptions at Level 3.
But to reach Level 5 without a single Skill, especially within the Loki Familia—a group teeming with monsters—made him stand out.
It was like a Gold-ranked player mixed with a team of Challengers.
Despite this, he held Finn's trust.
Finn never looked down on him for lacking Magic and Skills, instead, he entrusted Raul with important responsibilities and groomed him to be an executive.
The other person, a Cat girl named Anakitty, was his complete opposite—a genius with outstanding talent.
After the meal, Rayleigh followed the Three executives to the conference room at the top of Twilight Manor.
He settled onto a sofa and Anakitty served him tea before leaving the four of them to their discussion.
"Now then, Rayleigh," Finn began, "I'd like to ask you about the Zanpakuto in detail, if you don't mind."
A smile touched Rayleigh's lips.
He reached into his coat, pulled out a sheet of paper, and said, "I anticipated this. Instead of a verbal explanation, please read this document. I can guarantee everything in it is true."
Finn nodded, took the document, and began reading it.
He was halfway through when his pupils dilated with shock.
"The Zanpakuto has this kind of structure?"
Even after finishing the document, he remained stunned, unable to regain his composure.
Gareth, waiting beside him, grew impatient.
"Hey, Finn, let me see that."
The Pallum hero lifted his head.
Seeing his astonished expression, both Gareth and Riveria found it a rare sight.
Soon after, they received the document and mirrored Finn's shocked expression.
Gareth blurted, "Are you sure this isn't a load of nonsense?"
Finn steepled his fingers in front of his mouth.
"Riveria and I saw it with our own eyes," he said in a low voice. "It's real."
"Real?!"
Gareth couldn't help but be stunned.
A Level 2 Adventurer defeating Goliath with a weapon called a Zanpakuto?
It sounded like something out of a fever dream!
And here, the ones who already knew something were more shocked than the one who knew nothing.
Until now, Finn and Riveria had analyzed the Zanpakuto through observation.
Now, with its true secrets laid bare before them, they realized what they understood was merely the tip of the iceberg.
"A blade forged from the soul! It possesses its own consciousness and grows stronger alongside its master!"
"And that power that changes the blade's form... it's called Shikai."
"Above that, there's a higher-level release called Bankai."
"Bankai's power is five to ten times greater than Shikai's!"
"It's an ultimate technique that can only be mastered by gaining the Zanpakuto's full recognition."
"And a training method called Jinzen, which allows one to train with the Zanpakuto in their inner world!"
It was unbelievable!
They had been wrong from the beginning.
A Zanpakuto is not just a powerful weapon in it self, but it was the other half of one's soul!
In other words, I am the blade!
"To think someone could create something like this..."
Finn was terrified.
Even Riveria was horrified by the true nature of the Zanpakuto.
After taking time to calm their racing hearts, Finn resumed his duties as Captain.
He began, "Rayleigh, the Loki Familia wishes to sign a contract with you."
The terms of the contract were simple.
It required him to forge exclusive Zanpakuto for members selected from within the Loki Familia.
The price per blade started at 300 million Valis, with no upper limit.
The final right of interpretation belonged to Rayleigh.
"Then, to start, could you please forge a Zanpakuto for Ais?"
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow.
'Ais, huh.'
He didn't care who he was forging for, everyone here met his qualifications.
But to prioritize her over the top-tier combatants... Ais truly was the Loki Familia's darling!
...
After negotiation, Rayleigh's first batch of orders was confirmed: three Zanpakuto.
The down payment was 300 million Valis.
The final payment would be calculated based on the finished products.
For now, the Loki Familia had decided to give the first Zanpakuto to Ais, with the other recipients yet to be determined.
That part was none of his business as an outsider.
"Looks like I'm about to get busy."
Instead of returning to the Familia's base, Rayleigh moved directly into his forge.
For the foreseeable future, he would have to pause his Dungeon explorations to focus on forging.
After Alise and the others reached Level 3, they would need to prioritize supporting their Familia members anyway.
The squad's activities would be on hold for now.
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